Grab your needles and crochet hooks. It's September, and that can only mean that the annual Yarn Expo is almost here.

The Alaska State Yarn Council is now nationally famous for its Yarn Expo, an annual vendor market coupled with educational classes in several of the needlearts, including knitting and crochet. But Yarn Expo IV offers up new twists on the vendor market.

The Yarn Expo vendor market will take place right in yarn shops throughout Anchorage, Eagle River, Wasilla and Palmer. If you have never discovered some of these LYS (local yarn shops), you can sign up to ride in the Magic Yarn Bus and visit all of them. You'll be able to shop and drool on all of the gorgeous yarns at each shop rather than walk through a crowded vendor market.

The featured instructor for Yarn Expo IV is the internationally famous Lily Chin. She is a master of knitting and crochet and hosts the high-fashion show "Stitchcraft" on the Oxygen cable network. Chin also has her own extrodinary line of beautiful yarns, the Lily Chin Signature Collection, which you can see on her Web site at www.lilychinsignaturecollection.com.

She holds the title of "World's Fastest Crocheter" and has knitted for some of the fashion runway's most celebrated designers, including Diane Von Furstenberg, Isaac Mizrahi, Vera Wang and Ralph Lauren.

Chin has authored several books for knitting and crochet: "Knit and Crochet With Beads," "The Urban Knitter" and "Mosaic Magic: Afghans Made Easy." Her newest book, "Couture Crochet Workshop: Mastering Fit, Fashion and Finesse" (Interweave Press, 2007), is probably one of the most comprehensive instruction manuals for design I have seen, as it's more a textbook on becoming your own designer than it is just a pattern book. It's beautifully done, with clear diagrams on drafting pattern alterations, and includes patterns for her stunning originals.

It's also the inspiration for one of the featured classes she will teach at Yarn Expo IV.

Chin will be teaching classes in Custom Pattern Fitting for crochet or knitting, Tips and Tricks for Knitters, Tips and Tricks for Crocheters, and Beading for Knitwear. There are still a few spaces remaining in her classes, so hop right on it and get your registration in to ensure you'll be able to learn from the master.

Other knitting and crochet classes are being taught this year by two of the area's most talented instructors, Kathy Meggitt and Delma Myers. Meggitt, owner of the Valley School of Creative Knitting, will be teaching knitting with double-pointed needles and duplicate stitching for knitters. Myers, crochet designer and author, will sever your crocheting constraints and unleash your creative muse with Freeform Crochet.

Does your knitting have you stumped? Vist the "ER Knitting Doctor." This year you can bring your UFOs (unfinished objects) and problem projects to the "emergency room" by booking time with Kay Smith, owner of Far North Yarn Co.

If you want to explore weaving or Locker hooking, or learn how to make your own buttons from polymer clay, then this is the year to participate in classes at Yarn Expo. There is space now, but it's almost gone, and you don't want to miss out on an opportunity to increase your knowledge in your favorite needleart. Don't let your budget hold you back, either, because you can join the ASYC for a discount on your fees, and you can sign up to help in your class for a discount of 50 percent of your class fees.

To register, visit the Alaska State Yarn Council's Web site at www.alaskayarncouncil.org and download registration information and mail-in forms.

ALASKA STATE FAIR: Congratulations to ribbon winners at the fair for their beautiful knitting and crochet work.

Interior designer, artist and professional knitwear designer Catherine Hollingsworth is past president of the Alaska State Yarn Council and knitters of the North. E-mail her at twosticks@adnmail.com.

Yarn Expo IV

FEATURED INSTRUCTOR: Lily Chin, knitting and crochet designer and author

WHEN: Sept. 28, 29, 30

WHERE: Homewood Suites Conference Center, 101 W. 48th Ave., near Tudor Road and C Street

REGISTRATION: See the complete schedule and register online at

www.alaskayarncouncil.org

MORE INFO: 277-YARN (9276).

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